Introduction

Blackjack Caribbean is a simply, yet entertaining, version of blackjack. The game's graphics are nice and the game ran smoothly with no bumps, glitches or crashes experienced.

I first saw Caribbean Blackjack at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas on August 1, 2015. It should not be confused with the Realtime Gaming blackjack variant Caribbean 21. The concept is that the player makes two blackjack bets and an optional poker-based side bet. Standard, but stingy, rules are followed on the blackjack bets. The twist is that the four initial player cards and the dealer's up card are used to determine the outcome of the Poker side bet.

1. Destinations: Bahamas, Caribbean Multiple blackjack tables with variations such as Face Up and Fun 21. Low game minimums for casual players with some higher limits up to $300 per hand.
2. Caribbean Blackjack is a Trademark by Cre8tv, LLC, the address on file for this trademark is Po Box 230026, Las Vegas, NV 89105.

I debated with myself whether to classify Caribbean Blackjack as a unique game or a blackjack side bet. In the end, I marginally decided to call it a unique game because the signage calls it 'Caribbean Blackjack' and the element of making two blackjack bets per player changes the dynamic of the game somewhat.

Rules

Standard blackjack rules are followed with the following specifics.

1. A single 52-card deck is used, which is shuffled after every round.
2. Blackjack pays 6-5 (Oy!)
3. Player may double on any two cards.
4. Player may not double after a split.
5. Player may re-split to four hands, except split aces get one card each.
6. Surrender is not allowed.
7. The Poker Bet pays according to the following table. The 'Action Bonuses' refer to what the player and dealer will receive if another player gets a paying hand. To qualify for an Action Bonus, a $5 minimum bet is required on the Poker Bet.

Poker Bet Pay Table

Hand	Pays to Player	Action Bonus to Player	Action Bonus to Dealer
Royal flush	250 to 1	$250	$50
Straight flush	150 to 1	$100	$20
Four of a kind	50 to 1	$50	$10
Full house	25 to 1	$25	$5
Flush	7 to 1	$0	$0
Straight	4 to 1	$0	$0
Three of a kind	3 to 1	$0	$0
Two pair	2 to 1	$0	$0
Pair A-10	1 to 1	$0	$0
Pair 9-2	Push	$0	$0

Basic Strategy

The following table shows the basic strategy for Caribbean Blackjack.

As a reminder, you can get the proper basic strategy for any standard set of blackjack rules with my blackjack strategy calculator.

House Edge

The house edge is 1.58%. If another casino should deal this game with a cut card, the house edge would jump to 1.70%.

Poker Side Bet

The following table shows the probability and return for each possible outcome of the Poker side bet. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 10.02%, before considering the Action Bonus.

Poker Side Bet

Event	Pays	Combinations	Probability	Return
Royal flush	250	4	0.000002	0.000385
Straight flush	150	36	0.000014	0.002078
Four of a kind	50	624	0.000240	0.012005
Full house	25	3,744	0.001441	0.036014
Flush	7	5,108	0.001965	0.013758
Straight	4	10,200	0.003925	0.015699
Three of a kind	3	54,912	0.021128	0.063385
Two pair	2	123,552	0.047539	0.095078
Pair A-10	1	422,400	0.162527	0.162527
Pair 9-2	0	675,840	0.260042	0.000000
All other	-1	1,302,540	0.501177	-0.501177
Total	2,598,960	1.000000	-0.100249

For a $5 bet, the Action Bonus will reduce the house edge by 1.00% for each additional player at the table. Plus, the value of the dealer's Action Bonus is 0.20%. These values should be divided by b/5 for any Poker bets over $5, where b is the amount of the bet.

The following table shows the overall house edge according to the total number of players (including yourself). The 'generous player' is one who takes pleasure in the dealer's Action Bonus equal to the pleasure he would receive if he received the money himself. The 'stingy player' cares only about his own win.

Poker Bet Pay Table

Total Players	Stingy Player	Generous Player
7	4.05%	3.85%
6	5.05%	4.85%
5	6.04%	5.84%
4	7.04%	6.84%
3	8.03%	7.83%
2	9.03%	8.83%
1	10.02%	9.83%

Video

Links

Discussion about Caribbean Blackjack at Wizard of Vegas.

Written by:Michael Shackleford

In card games, hole carding is the obtaining of knowledge of cards that are supposed to be hidden from view. The term is usually applied to blackjack but can apply to other games with hidden hole cards, like three card poker and Caribbean stud poker. So long as it does not involve the use of a device like a mirror or actions like touching the dealer's cards, in most jurisdictions hole carding is a legal form of advantage gambling in casino table games. In other games, like stud poker, casinos normally have rules against rubbernecking or having a confederate stand behind an opponent to signal hole cards.

Blackjack players must usually make playing decisions based on only seeing one of the dealer's cards (the upcard). But if the dealer's hole card is spotted, a player who plays correctly has a theoretical advantage of up to 13% instead of the normal player disadvantage of around 0.5%. A hole-card player will often choose not to make certain plays, such as hitting a hard 19 against a dealer 20, so as not to reveal that he can see the dealer's hole card.

This technique is not applicable in most games outside of the United States where the second dealer card is normally not dealt until all players have played.

Strategies[edit]

A normal blackjack strategy has ten columns, for an ace through dealer ten value card. Strategy tables for hole carding differ from normal blackjack tables as they include a column for each possible total dealer hand instead of simply the visible card. Below is a sample hole card hit/stand table for six decks, stand on soft-17. The columns are based on the dealer hand and the rows based on the player hand. Green denotes a hit.

First-basing and spooking[edit]

Royal Caribbean Blackjack

One method of hole carding is to peek at the card when the dealer checks the hole card for blackjack. This is called 'first-basing'.^[1] A modification called 'spooking' refers to a partner with a better view peeking at the hole card in the same circumstance and communicating the information to the player. Peeking devices have made these methods largely obsolete.^[2]

Front-loading[edit]

Royal Caribbean Blackjack Tournament

Front-loading refers to observing the hole card as it is slid under the upcard.^[3] Newer methods of hole-carding concentrate on observation before the down card is placed under the upcard. This provides information about the card even if the dealer upcard is not a ten or an ace. The advantage varies depending on the rules, the percentage of cards seen, and the strategies used.

Partial information[edit]

At times the player will see a corner of the hole card, but not enough to determine the exact card. For example, if there is no pip in the corner, the card may be an ace, 2 or 3. Or, if there is a pip in the corner, it is a 4-10, but not a face card. To make use of this additional information, a different set of strategy tables must be used depending on the set of possible cards in the hole.^[4]

Below is a sample blackjack, partial hole card hit/stand table for two decks. The columns are based on the dealer upcard and the rows based on the player hand. Partial hole card tables contain ten columns as the dealer's total hand is not known with complete certainty. A different set of tables must be used depending on the information acquired from the hole card. In this table, the hole card is a six or seven. Green denotes a hit. One might note that this table bears little resemblance to standard blackjack strategy.

Next card play[edit]

Hole carding generally refers to knowing the dealer’s hole card. Next card play refers to knowing the next card to be dealt. If a round has not started, and a player knows what his or her first card will be, one can simply alter one's bet depending on the value of that card. In a game like blackjack, if the dealer has already dealt a player's first two cards, and the player knows the next card to be dealt, it becomes possible for playing decisions to be altered to include this additional information.^[4]:255 Strategies are significantly more complex as there exists a different strategy table for each possible next card. Strategies may also differ depending on a player's position in the dealing rotation:

• First Seat – If the player does not take the known card, another player gets it.
• Last Seat – If the player does not take the card, the dealer may draw it. This also applies in a situation where no player to one's left is likely to draw a card.
• No hole card – In a no-hole-card game, if the player does not take the card, it may become the dealer’s second card.

Other methods[edit]

• Warped cards – In a casino where a blackjack dealer bends the hole card to check for a blackjack, the cards can become warped. The warps can be later used to determine the value of a face down card. This method is largely obsolete as most casinos use devices instead of bending cards to determine dealer blackjacks, and cards are regularly replaced with new decks.^[5]
• Dealer tells – When a blackjack dealer checks for a blackjack, some dealers may give clues as to the value of the down card, akin to poker tells. Again, most casinos now use devices to check the down card, rendering this obsolete in most casinos.^[6]
• Peeking at other players' cards – Depending on the game and casino, this may or may not be acceptable and may aid player decisions.
• Counting by inference – In blackjack where player cards are dealt face down, the actions of other players can provide clues as to their hidden cards. This is less valuable in modern casinos due to the fewer number of single-deck games and reduction in penetration (how deeply the dealer deals before shuffling.)

Notes[edit]

1. ^Blaine, Rick. Blackjack blueprint : how to play like a pro-- part-time. Huntington Press. p. 154. ISBN0-929712-16-1.
2. ^Snyder, Arnold. The big book of blackjack (1st ed.). Cardoza Pub. p. 311. ISBN1-58042-155-5.
3. ^Uston, Ken. Million dollar blackjack (6th rev. print ed.). Gambling Times. p. 197. ISBN0-89746-068-5.
4. ^ ^abGrosjean, James. Exhibit CAA : beyond counting (1st ed.). South Side Advantage Press, LLC. p. 279. ISBN0-9790061-4-7.
5. ^Humble, Lance; Cooper, Carl. The world's greatest blackjack book (Rev. ed.). Doubleday. p. 141. ISBN0-385-15382-1.
6. ^Snyder, Arnold (2005). Blackbelt in blackjack : playing 21 as a martial art (3rd ed.). New York: Cardoza Pub. ISBN978-1580421430.